


MoonStruck

by ImagineStories23



Series: The Cycle [1]
Category: Being Human (UK), Being Human (US/Canada), Bitten (TV), Teen Wolf (TV), Wolfblood (TV)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Body Language, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Every chapter posted is warranted to change at anytime, F/M, Feral Behavior, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Nudity, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Partial Nudity, This is technically a BETA read, Transformation, Vampires, Werewolf Hunters, Werewolf Turning, Wolf Pack, painful transformation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-01-25 09:49:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12528608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineStories23/pseuds/ImagineStories23
Summary: It's always been speculated that every myth, every legend, every story has a bit of truth in them, that every monster thought to be legend might be real, some believe, others don't.But what if you were thrust into this other world ... where everything you thought was myth and legend was real. What if you were one of them looking from the other side?... What then ...?





	1. Bookin' It

**Wednesday, August 2nd** **  
** **08: 45 p.m.** **  
** **  
** _**Moon Phase** _ **  
** ****_Waxing Crescent_

  
  _ **T**_ he watery daylight pushed back at the darkened edges of dawn, reclaiming the colors of the day that had been washed into grey by the moonlit night. The world came back like a freshly developed photograph, every color bright and new. Within the Ashton local library, Sylvia, the librarian's assistant, rolled a cart down the aisle, placing new and returned books upon their respective spots on the shelves; Novels go in the Novel section, Sci-Fiction go in the in the Sci-Fiction section and Fiction go in the Fiction section. She overheard a passing conversation from an aisle across as she worked, curiously causing her to stop and listen.  
  
“A few animals got pilfered from the Meadowbrook farm last night.”  
  
“Really? I thought they had locked up the animals?”  
  
“Yeah, but it still got to them. ”  
  
“The Millstone Beast strikes again.”  
  
Sylvia shook her head and continues on her work. Eventually returning to her spot behind the counter for a small break. One of the Librarians, Susan, greeted her, “Hey.”  
  
“Hey.”  
  
“You heard all of those rumors about the ‘Millstone Beast’? Crazy, huh?”  
  
“Yeah. They’ve been telling people to stay in pairs and stay out of dark areas .” Sylvia added, “ Personally, I think they’re blowing this way out of proportions. The thing hasn’t even attacked anyone.”  
  
“Better safe than sorry right? The creature has been killing animals. What’s stopping it from attacking and possibly killing someone?”  
  
“You’re talking about the beast like its sentient or something. An animal is an animal. They don’t choose or decide, they go upon instinct. Whatever it is, it’ll go for small, easy prey.”, Sylvia replied logically.  
  
“But its because it goes upon instinct that makes it unpredictable. What if its food supply gets low? It’ll start to get hungry and get desperate, it might even go so far as to attack a human.” Susan said, “Best to prevent the worse from happening.”  
  
“... Right.”  
  
“So … you're thinking about getting into college?”  
  
“Yeah. I've been looking into a few colleges in the area the last week or so.” Sylvia replied, “ I haven’t settled for one yet.”  
  
“I see. Well, I wish you luck in finding the perfect college.”

“ Thanks.”

A man walked up to the counter, pushing the book and library card ‘Running With Wolves’ towards Susan, “ I wish to check this book out … ”

“Okay.” Sylvia watched Susan takes the two items, she looks back at the man, a square jawline and rough cinnamon skin accompanied by a deep-set of chocolate brown eyes. The broad lines of his body reminded her of a statue almost. His eyes suddenly locked with hers, and she quickly averted them to avoid looking like she was staring.

“Here’s your book sir.” Susan hand him the book and card back, “It’s due a week from now.”

“Thank you.” He pockets his card and tucks his book underneath his arm as he leaves out the automatic sliding doors.

Sylvia watched silently as he left before she got up and grabbed the book cart and went back to place the books back on their correct shelves. 

Her shift soon ended several hours later, she took two buses to get home.

With a click of the lock, she twisted the knob and open the door, walking inside and as pre usually, her Father, who was lounging in the living room watching T.V, was the first to greet her, “Hey Sweetie. How was work?”

“Good.” She said as she took off her coat putting it up on the coat rack, " Though this random guy was giving me the stink eye..."

"Really?" He Father rose a brow, " What for?"

" I don't know. I didn't ask. I'm sure its nothing - he's probably was having a bad day."She locked the door behind her, " I'm going upstairs..."

Sylvia made her way upstairs and into her room closing the door behind her. She tossed her bag aside and collapsed into the soft embrace of her bed, staring up at the ceiling of her room with a sigh, closing her eyes … until her phone began to buzz with a notification.

“Hm?”  
  
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned it on, seeing a ‘ **1** ’ sitting up top of the text message app, she taps in her password and went onto her messages. It was from her friend, Rachel.

  
  
[text] - You there?

 

  
She answered.

**\---**

Yeah. - [text]

 

[text] - Hey! How are ya? It’s been a month since we’ve talked.

 

I know. Been busy. With moving and finding a job and a college. I got a job as a Library Assistant here. - [text]

 

[text] - Nice~ Well I’ve been talking with Agatha and Hal - we’re planning a camping trip as a little get together. I was wondering if you and your brother would join us?

  
Of course! When? - [text]

  
[text] - We’re still working that out. We need to clear a couple of days as well as gather the money to get a caravan. I’ll text you once we sort things out.

  
Alright. Talk to you later. - [text]

  
[txt] - Alright.

**\---**

She scrolled down with a finger down to her Mother's name, tapping on it and begins to message her.

**\---**

  
  
Hey. Rachal and our friends are planning a camping trip. - [text]

 

[text] - Oh yeah?

 

Yep.- [text]

 

[text] - Is it planned?

 

That's in the process, right now.- [text]

 

[text] - Alright tell me when its happening. Also...

[text] - Who are you meeting?

**\---**

Slyvia rose an eyebrow slightly at this.

**\---**

What are you talking about? - [text]

 

[text] - I noticed you leave out on the Weekends from time to time, which you rarely do if not ever do unless you have something planned…

**\---**

She smirks, her Mother was attentive, nothing much could get past her, “Heh… Guess it out huh?”

**\---**

[text] - Well?

 

His name is Trevor. He’s a nice guy - you’ll like him. - [text]

 

[text] - How long?

 

A week. Met at this diner called The Den. - [text]

 

[text] - Right … Just be careful.

**\---**

She rolls her eyes.

**\---**

Of course, Mom - [text]

We’re going to another date on Sunday. - [text]

 

[text] - Alright.

**\---**

Sylvia puts her phone aside as she began to stretch out, feeling a few bones let out satisfying pops, a sigh escaped her lips as her eyes closed.  
  


*** * ***

**Sunday, August 6th**   
**04: 25 p.m.**

**Moon Phase**

_Full moon_

“So… This is the place, huh?” Her Father stood in the doorway with her of an urban style walk-in restaurant, The Den.

“Yeah, this and the bookstore down the street are the only places I seem to run into him.”

"Alright... Make sure to stay in contact." She nThey walked in and took a seat at the table near the window, and looked over the menu, and it wasn't long before a waitress came to their table, “Welcome to The Den. What would you like for drinks?”

" Tea."

"Lemonade."

"Alright. I'll be right back with your drinks." The waitress walked off, disappearing into the back room.

In the meantime, they talked.

“So what do you love birds plan on doing?” Her twin brother, Zachariah, asked her. She cheeks turned a slight tint of pink before she answered.

“We were just going on hang out a bit, go to the bookstore, hang out the library, read a bit. Amazingly we like the same author. He seems really nice as well…” She adjusted her glasses a bit.

Suddenly, the TV spoke up and they found themselves turning to it, “Early this morning, a mutilated animal carcass was found in the Midwestern park. Making this the third one to date. Police and Animal control are trying to locate the creature behind these series of animal attacks.” The female news reporter announced from the TV, “Officials say the attacks are possibly being done by a wild dog, but it is still under speculation.”

“Another animal attack… ” Her twin mumbled under his breath. He sat beside her at the table as the both of them waited for her date to arrive.

“Is that why you're here?” She questioned, “Afraid I'm going to be attacked by some dog?”

“...”, He was silent at first, but she knew why he really here with her. He was protective, he wanted to trail around and scope out this ‘date' of hers, “You can say that…”

“Mmhmm…” She turns and stares out the restaurant window, the light of the mid-afternoon sun washed into the building providing natural light, its warmth cascading over her and her twin sibling, their table and the other tables that laid out behind them. Customers conversed with one another, though she could hardly pick out any of the conversations through the overlapping voices, she knew it was about the animal killings that have been plaguing the city lately.

With the ring of the doorbell, he stepped inside the establishment, in a short blue denim vest, white shirt, and blue jeans, a young teen with a short scruffy beard walked inside, books tucked underneath his arms, “Oh! There he is.” She waves a hand and drew his attention as he walked over to the table and took a seat on the other side.

“Ah, Zahirah. How are you?”

“I'm doing fine. Who's this?” He gestured to her brother.

“This is my twin brother, Zachariah. He's kind of … protective. He'll be hanging around… Sorry."

“It's alright. The more, the merrier. Name's Trevor.” He reached out a greeting hand to sibling and he took it with a small shake before stuffing his hand back into his pockets of his jacket. Trevor looked at the two of them, “Heh. You weren't kidding about the two of you being twins. The resemblance you two have is uncanny.”

Zachariah shrugged, “It's in the family.”

The waitress came back with their drinks, placing them on the table, " what would you like for an appetizer?"

"Breadsticks."

"And Main?"

"Burger, well cooked, and fries."

"Salad, please." They watch the Waitress write until Trevor spoke up, “I would like to place an order.”

“What would you like?” The waitress pulled up her back book.

“A cup of water and a burger, medium rare, and fries.”

She wrote it down before snapping it shut, “Coming up.” She walked out.

"So ... Trevor ... What brings you here?" Her Brother asked.

"Well, I moved here a couple of years ago, a lot of bad stuff happened back where I use to live and I ... just had to get away..."

And Zahirah began to sink into her seat with embarrassment, her Brother was basically giving him an Interview to see if he was even worthy of being her boyfriend. With that, she buried herself in her phone until the food and was placed before them, after finishing it, they paid their bills and left out the restaurant. Zachariah hung back, but kept a close eye on the two as she and Trevor chatted among each other, they stopped at the bookstore and Trevor bought her some books from their favorite author before stopping at the library to read a few chapters and share their thoughts.

It wasn't long before nightfall came, the sky gradually being drained off colors until it became an inky black. Stars glittering like sparkling diamonds, “This day was great. Thank you for the books. You didn't have to buy them.” Zahirah said as the three of them stood in an empty street, light cast down by a lamp post on the other side of the street.

“It was my pleasure. A gift for that wonderful little date we had.” Trevor said with a smile, “ I had such a great time with you, Zahirah and your brother is … quite interesting."

“We look after each other since we were kids - he always has my best interest at heart. He’s just testing you, make sure you ain’t some kind of a jerk.”

Trevor chuckles, “You think I passed?”

“With flying colors~,” Zahirah said with a smile, “I would help you to your house with that animal attack an everything, but you know…” She looks back at her brother who waited for her.

“Understandable. I hope we meet again Zahirah my time with you was quite pleasurable.”

“Me too.” She waved goodbye and followed her brother as they head home.

Her phone buzzed as they walked, she pulled it out of her pocket to see a '1' notification hovering to the Text Message app, she accessed her phone and looked at the text that came from her best friend Rachel.

\---

[text] - Alright. We might be able to make it on the 10th, we'll but some camping gear and a van and we'll all hang out in the woods for a couple of days.

 

Sweet. See you guys then. - [text]

\---

Zahirah pocketed her phone once more, " It's on the 10th. I'm sure I can clear some days. You?"

"I'm one of the best workers at the Market. I'm sure my boss won't mind me taking a couple of days off." Zachariah replied with a smile.

"Then it's unanimous!"

* * *

 

_**To Be Continued ...** _


	2. Going Out ...

  **** **Thursday, August 10th** ****  
**04: 25 p.m.** ****  
****  
_**Moon Phase**_ **  
** ****

_Waning Gibbous_

The car pulled up in front of the dirt pathway, “ Be careful you two.” Their mother warned as they stepped out of the car, grabbing their duffle bags from the trunk, “ We’ll be back for you in a few days.”

“Alright, Mom. See you guys in a couple of days.” Zahirah replied as she closed the trunk, walking over to her twin’s side. The two of them waved as their parents pulled off soon disappearing down the road.

Zahirah eager made her way up the trail path, the path is wide and civilized. The city has used the taxes to lay wood-chips and place garbage bins along the route. Soon, the campsite came into view, a caravan sat parked on the side, a burning campfire crackled in the middle as three familiar faces sat around it.

“Hey!”

Their heads turned to see her with wide smiles, “Zahirah, Zachariah!” They leaped from their seat as they ran over to meet them halfway with a hug, “It’s been a while!”

 “It has!” Zahirah said as she hugged Rachel and Agatha tightly, “Hope you guys have things planned.” She gives a sparring glance over to her brother as he was conversing with Hal in their own little corner.

 “Of course~.” Rachel pulled out a map of the National Park, “ There’s a fishing spot not far from here. And Hal brought some of his Father’s old fishing equipment.”

 “Sweet." Zahirah replied," I bought some chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers.”

 “Nice~ S'mores for dessert.” 

 Zahirah soon pulled away, “ I’m surprised you suggested this Rachel - you’re just as much of a worry wart as my brother. I’m sure you heard about the animal attacks around here ...”

 Rachel waves a dismissive hand, “We’re miles away from where the attacks were happening. I highly doubt that beast would come from all the way from where its been hunting to here like that.”

 “ ... Right.” She smiled, " Now, let's get this started shall we ...~?" Zahirah nods and places her bag near one of the logs with a smile as she, Rachal and Agatha took up the fishing gear and made their way to the nearest lake.

 

*** * ***

**Friday, August 11th**   
**09: 10 p.m.**

**Moon Phase**

_Waning Gibbous_

A day of activities gone and past, dusk had fallen, and the mosquitos were out. Zahirah felt goosebumps were on her arms from the evening chill, the once green shrubbery now looked almost black, silhouetted, colors muted, as if they had been drained away. Her eyes looked up at the night sky, at the star the glittered so brightly in a black, inky air, she didn't appreciate them as much until now, without the glaring lights of the city snuffing out the must of them, she can see a whole canvas of sparkling dots, each of them was a sun so far, far, far away yet still visible even if it is just a small glimpse of their light. She looked back upon the fire that was baking her marshmallow, it was bright and vivid, as though someone had shown a spotlight on it. The intensity and excitement of the flames were like they were dancing in the moonlight, the colors were brilliant reds, oranges, and faint yellows. She could feel the heat of it on her legs as she twirled her mallow, making sure all the sides were browned perfectly all the while she was being silently watched.

"I ... don't know how you do it ..." She looked over at Agatha as she lifted her mellow away from the fire, it was burnt pretty bad, she sighs, " ... Another mallow bites the dust ..."

Zahirah chuckles, "You gotta keep a close eye on it ... and time it. I've gone camping before with my family a few times... My father taught me..." She lifted her mallow from the fire, all of it perfectly browned on all sides, " Though that doesn't stop me from burning a couple from time to time... " She goes and grabs a gram-cracker and a bar of chocolate off the table set up near the campfire and sits back down. She splits the gram and chocolate in half and sandwiches the mallow in the middle of them - a perfectly made S'more.

Agatha careful pulls off the burnt mellow and tosses it into the garbage bag before grabbing another one out of the marshmallow bag.

" So. Campfire Ghost stories! Who has them?" Rachel chimed, everybody groans as Zahirah took a bite out of her S'more, " Come on...~ Cheezy and Dumb ones are accepted here. No Judgement."

Hal sighs, " ... Fine. I'll start." He sits up on the lawn chair, leaning in close to the fire so it would cast an eerie shadow over his face, "This ... is the story of the Haunted Chair."

Strangely enough, the story was kind of creepy to her surprise. Everyone took turns telling their own stories with varying degrees of effort until Hal noticed the fire starting to dim, " Fire's getting low. Who's turn is it to get the firewood?"

" I've done it already."

" Me too."

" Me three."

"And me four. Which leaves Zahirah ..."

She groans loudly, " Fine... but if I get eaten by a bear out there ... I'm going to be haunting all of your asses..."

" Just don't stray too far from the camp and you'll be fine." Said, Hal as she got up from the log.

" Alright..." Zahirah strolled into the foliage of the darkened forest.

Trying not to stray too far, she gathering up firewood, through the dark night, picking up dry leaves and fallen branches as she walked. With her arm almost full, her gathering led her to a break in the foliage as she stood in a large open field of long grass. It wasn’t anything new, Hal had showed her this area before earlier in the morning. The area was completely different at night, it had more of a mysterious and eerie feeling to it now, she gave it a look around before picking up a couple of more sticks.

Finally, with an armful, she turned around to return back to the campsite, she took only a couple of steps until she felt the ground beginning to tremble beneath her feet. Earthquake...?, She thought as she stopped in her tracks, confused, but the true cause soon burst from the foliage a herd of deer, eyes wide, glazed over, as they stampeded blindly. The twigs and dry leaves fell to the ground as she immediately threw herself to the ground, hands behind her head, they bellowed loudly, she could feel them run around her, some of them on her as she painfully felt a hoof step on her side. She waited until everything went silent before sitting up, catching the glimpse of the herd disappearing into the other side of the field.

She rubbed her side hissing in pain, " The hell. What spooked them...?" She looked down at her pile of dry leaves, all of them scatted and crushed, she sighs, " Great..." She picks up the sticks that were still intact and climbed to her feet, continuing her way back to her back the campsite.

As she moved through the dark woods, her wandering gaze caught ... something, something that looked like a large dog, standing near a tree a few meters away. In the near dark, she couldn't make it out very well, but when its massive head pulled up from the ground and looked in her direction, something about the animal made her spine tremble a bit. She had never seen a wild dog or wolf act so focused on its own.

"Just... keep moving Zahirah. It wants nothing to do with you ... ", Zahirah began to head for the campsite, making a small detour, giving the creature a wide breath so it would feel no need to get aggressive. When she heard footfalls coming to her direction, she turned to notice the animal now was walking towards her, a steady growling coming from its muzzle. As she backed away a little, panic crept into her steps, Zahirah knew it would be a bad idea to run, that would only make it pursue her as her running would make it think she was prey but at this point, she didn't care, every inch of her body was saying, 'Run.'. Zahirah stared a moment longer than ... she bolted, dropping the sticks as she did. She ran as fast as she could through the forest, not looking back if she was getting chased or not. Her breath came in small spurts, hot and nervous, fingers curled into fists, swinging forward as if it would make her faster. Behind her, she could have sworn, she heard a snarl and Zahirah threw herself forward with even greater abandon. Her lungs and heart were pumping, but the air didn't seem to be enough as she sprinted forward, panic trembling in her limbs. It wasn't until she saw the light of fire peering through the dark, she made a beeline for it until she finally burst out of the foliage into the campsite.

Everybody looked at her as she stood there, leaning back on her knees, catching her breath, " Zahirah...? You alright?"One of them asked.

Her brother moved over to her, placing a hand on her back, " Sis...?"

Zahirah finally spoke, " ... There ... There ... " The words seemed to stumble and fumble out of her mouth as she back away from the foliage, staring out at the forest's edge, fearfully, " There was ... this herd and this... this thing ... this ... creature... out there... I-It was huge ... I don't know .... if ... it ... it followed me ... I-"

"Hey hey hey ... It's alright, Sis ... Whatever that thing was out there, it won't attack here, there's too many of us ... if it was chasing you, seeing us would have turned it off by now. " Her brother reassured her.

She takes a breath and slowly relaxed. Zachariah was right, there was five of them if it were to attack it would have to deal with them, " Yeah ... Yeah, you're right, Bro. I'm just ... a little shaken u -"

Something - a blur of fur and fangs - flew past Zachariah, a scream of pure agony ripped the once calm and happy air apart. They both turned to see Rachal on the ground, still, eyes rolled back, blood - looking almost black in the lighting - dripping from the corner of her lips in a steady stream as her throat was completely torn out. The large creature stood over her, muzzle and teeth bloodied, looking among them, snarling as if it was choosing its next target.

"RACHAL!!" Agatha screamed out in horror.

Hal stood there, completely stricken by shock at what had just happened, each of them stood still until the creature lunged again this time at Agatha, who froze on the spot, "NO!" Hal finally moved again, pushing her out of the way as he was tackled onto the floor, wrestling with a beast as it tore into him, " Get the Flare! Get the Flare!" He cried out.

Zahriah snapped out of it momentarily when she remembered, Right...! Since the animal attacks, the Park Rangers have been working overtime to keep all campers safe telling them, if they have a flare and trouble arises, they are to shoot it into the air and they would come running. The flare was in the van, didn't they have a gun in there too? Zahirah moved, " Sis!" Her brother called out to her as she bolted to the van and climbed inside. She ran to the front of the van and popped open the glove compartment. Zahirah watched it swung open, the flare gun and pistol laid snug inside as she grabbed both, making sure the pistol was fully loaded and ready to fire.

Another scream sounded, a familiar male one, "Brother!" She quickly ran back out and the moment as she did, something big and heavy suddenly slammed into her, throwing her into the ground with its weight alone. The flare gun and pistol flew out of her hands and onto the ground.

It stunned her for a moment, she felt several of her ribs break under the force, but she managed to recover quickly - fueled by adrenaline - to see rows of drooling, sharpened teeth and fangs bearing down, lunging for her throat. She struggled wildly, trying to claw and punch at the beast that had her, but the strength of the creature was unreal, it kept her in place as its claws dug deep, piercing her skin, and raked through her flesh, letting her blood flow. She struggled harder, twisting her neck away, managing to redirect the lethal bite to her shoulder.

She bawled out a sound of utter anguish and pain; a pain unlike anything she has ever felt, tears rolled down her face as the beast tore into her shoulder, fangs tossing around, ripping and tearing skin and flesh until a loud BANG! rang out, the beast lets out a pained yelp as a bullet struck its leg, staggering slightly before it sharply turned, facing her brother with a vicious snarl, golden eyes piercing his as he gripped the pistol tightly. Zahirah could see that the thing already scrapped with him, his clothes were bloody and ripped, claw marks on his chest and arm, the right half of his jeans were torn where a nasty bite was left on his thigh, she's surprised he can even stand, “Leave my sister alone! You fucking monster!”

The creature only lets out an angered roar before lunging at her brother, armed with only a simple pistol. The fight was very one-sided, her brother tried to aim for its soft parts, its nose, and eyes, but it did very little to harm or deter it. Its claws ripped through his shirt like paper, dug and tore into his side and leg. It tried to go for his throat, but pulled up his arm and let it take the bite, wrestling with the yellow-eyed beast until he pulled back a foot and kicked it hard in its wounded leg. The beast drew back with a pained yelp then, after a moment, was about to lunge forward again, but Zachariah let out another shot, meant for its head but hitting its left shoulder instead.

Zahirah was still laying there on the ground, trying to force her body to move and help her brother, that rush of adrenaline that numbed most of the pain was beginning to pass. She listened to the struggles and pained grunts and screams of her brother as he tried to fend off the beast. The sickly smell of copper was beginning to fill the air; blood.

She was bleeding out, steadily and was in so much pain that she felt like she couldn’t move at all… but she summoned the energy to slowly sit up to watch her brother get tossed almost like a rag doll against the nearby tree, his body limp and unmoving. She soon spotted the flare gun and slowly crawl towards it as with a rumbling snarl, the beast was prowl towards her brother, most likely to finish the job. Hal looked like he had been ripped apart, Agatha though in as bad of a shape as she was, her chest was still moving, barely.

Her hand touched the cold metal of the flare gun, she gripped it aimed it at the sky then fired, she watched it fly high before lighting ablaze glowing a bright red in the sky. It was only a matter of time now.

She looked back, the monster was almost on top of her brother, about to tear into him. Zahriah threw her arm back and threw the flare gun, watching it hit the beast on the side, “H … HEY!” She called out, its yellow eyes flicked towards her direction, “D-Did you forget about me…? You... damn mangy beast…! Finish fucking what you started…!” She coughed up a few specks of blood.

Its eyes narrowed and before she could even react with one bound the creature was upon her again, claws raked her thigh and arm, her clothing was being stained red as the beast bites down on her side, tearing into it before tossing her harshly. She felt another bone break as she hits the ground, hissing in pain, lying there. She could hear the beast moving towards her, its paw crunching the dead leave underfoot, but she could feel heat close to her, when she opened her eyes, she right in front of the laid the dying campfire, still burning, she stared at the rock that lies close to the fire, almost in it. It must be pretty hot right now ...

She looked back, the monster was right next to her, jaws open, poised to tear into her. Without even thinking, she grabbed the rock, ignoring the moment of burning pain, and stuffed it into the monster's open maw. It drew back, thrashing, tossing its head sides to side, hacking and coughing, trying to spit out the burning piece of coal in its throat, but seemingly failing until it finally bolts, disappearing into the foliage of the dark forest, screaming out agony as it retreated.

She laid there, her breathing somewhat shallow, staring at the fire. It was funny how a night of fun, laughing, joking around devolved into utter pain, horror, and death, two of her friends were dead, one was barely alive and her brother, she didn't know if he was even alive ...

And that thing, that monster ...

The edges of her vision slowly began to close in, she started to feel lightheaded, and was just beginning to feel… cold. It reminded her that she still losing blood, at this point, it didn’t matter, all she could do is wait. She stayed conscious as long as she could to hear the distant sound of rumbling truck engine drawing close ...

 

*** * ***

_It was dark, nighttime, stars glittered and sparkled, the full moon, the glorious full moon hung high in the sky casting a pale silver glow upon the land, free, untouched by man. She was running, no, galloping, on all fours, she felt like it should be weird to move in such a manner but instead it felt … natural. She loved it, it gave her a feeling she had never felt before… freedom, utter freedom, and power. All her worries, fears, responsibilities, and problems were gone, it was only her, the forest, and the moon._

_She was moving fast, faster than she has ever moved before, her surroundings were a blur as her powerful legs launched her forwards. She could smell everything - the feces and urine of several other animals; some old, some fresh, the soft acrid scents of gunpowder, oil, and metal from hunters long gone, and the different scents of the herds, plants, and mushrooms the grew within the forest. Her sensitive, pointed ears picked up the tiny, frightened animals that quickly scurried through the dead leaves and grass then she smelt something; something good._

_The scent of prey._

_Saliva pooled in her jaws, tongue lolling from her mouth. She felt something gnawing at her, she thought it was just hunger, but it was… something more. She was craving the taste of flesh and blood on her tongue. To sink her fangs into something living and taste its blood filled her every thought. She growled in her chest, filled with aching desire and a ravenous craving for meat…_

_As the scent got stronger, she slowed from a gallop to a trot, to a walk, then to a creep. Her body low to the ground, careful steps avoiding crunchy leaves and small twigs. Eyes scanned the area intently until she saw and heard movement._

_Small and nimble._

_A rabbit stood in the field nibbling on grass, unaware of her presence, she watched it closely and intently, her legs were bunched into a readied pounce. She licked her lips then … she lunged!_

_The poor thing didn’t even see her coming, within moments she was upon it, her jaws wrapped around its neck as she tore into the poor creature. It let out a pained and panicked screech until there was a snap!_

_It went quiet, she felt go limp in her jaws, she drops it onto the grass. Blood stained her lips, her tongue snakes out, tasting it. Somehow, despite the coppery taste, it was so good. She closed her eyes and found herself digging in, tearing through fur and into flesh. She felt like she should be disgusted_ by _herself, horrified by what she had done but all of that faded away as she ate. It tasted so good, better than anything she has ever eaten before. As she continued to eat, that feeling from before began to evaporate._

 _She soon opened her eyes and they widened in horror, she wasn’t eating a rabbit_ anymore _, it was a man, his throat torn out, eyes rolled back, dead; his face frozen in fear and pain. She was ripping out his organs, eating him. The ground below them was nothing but blood. She wanted to stop, she tried to stop, but she couldn’t, she had no control over her body. It just kept eating and eating, tearing out chunk after chunk and swallowing it whole._

_No._

_No!_

_STOP!_

* * *

 

_**To Be Continued...** _


	3. ... With a Bang

**Friday, August 11th**  
**09: 10 p.m.**

_**Moon Phase** _

_Waning Gibbous_

_**A**_  day of activities gone and past, dusk had fallen, and the mosquitos were out. Zahirah felt goosebumps were on her arms from the evening chill, the once green shrubbery now looked almost black, silhouetted, colors muted, as if they had been drained away. Her eyes looked up at the night sky, at the star the glittered so brightly in a black, inky air, she didn't appreciate them as much until now, without the glaring lights of the city snuffing out the must of them, she can see a whole canvas of sparkling dots, each of them was a sun so far, far, far away yet still visible even if it is just a small glimpse of their light. She looked back upon the fire that was baking her marshmallow, it was bright and vivid, as though someone had shown a spotlight on it. The intensity and excitement of the flames were like they were dancing in the moonlight, the colors were brilliant reds, oranges, and faint yellows. She could feel the heat of it on her legs as she twirled her mallow, making sure all the sides were browned perfectly all the while she was being silently watched.

"I ... don't know how you do it ..." She looked over at Agatha as she lifted her mellow away from the fire, it was burnt pretty bad, she sighs, " ... Another mallow bites the dust ..."

Zahirah chuckles, "You gotta keep a close eye on it ... and time it. I've gone camping before with my family a few times... My father taught me..." She lifted her mallow from the fire, all of it perfectly browned on all sides, " Though that doesn't stop me from burning a couple from time to time... " She goes and grabs a gram-cracker and a bar of chocolate off the table set up near the campfire and sits back down. She splits the gram and chocolate in half and sandwiches the mallow in the middle of them - a perfectly made S'more.

Agatha careful pulls off the burnt mellow and tosses it into the garbage bag before grabbing another one out of the marshmallow bag.

" So. Campfire Ghost stories! Who has them?" Rachel chimed, everybody groans as Zahirah took a bite out of her S'more, " Come on...~ Cheezy and Dumb ones are accepted here. No Judgement."

Hal sighs, " ... Fine. I'll start." He sits up on the lawn chair, leaning in close to the fire so it would cast an eerie shadow over his face, "This ... is the story of the Haunted Chair."

Strangely enough, the story was kind of creepy to her surprise. Everyone took turns telling their own stories with varying degrees of effort until Hal noticed the fire starting to dim, " Fire's getting low. Who's turn is it to get the firewood?"

" I've done it already." 

" Me too."

" Me three."

"And me four. Which leaves Zahirah ..."

She groans loudly, " Fine... but if I get eaten by a bear out there ... I'm going to be haunting all of your asses..."

" Just don't stray too far from the camp and you'll be fine." Said, Hal as she got up from the log.

" Alright..." Zahirah strolled into the foliage of the darkened forest.

Trying not to stray too far, she gathering up firewood, through the dark night, picking up dry leaves and fallen branches as she walked. With her arm almost full, her gathering led her to a break in the foliage as she stood in a large open field of long grass. It wasn’t anything new, Hal had showed her this area before earlier in the morning. The area was completely different at night, it had more of a mysterious and eerie feeling to it now, she gave it a look around before picking up a couple of more sticks. 

Finally, with an armful, she turned around to return back to the campsite, she took only a couple of steps until she felt the ground beginning to tremble beneath her feet. _Earthquake...?,_ She thought as she stopped in her tracks, confused, but the true cause soon burst from the foliage a herd of deer, eyes wide, glazed over, as they stampeded blindly. The twigs and dry leaves fell to the ground as she immediately threw herself to the ground, hands behind her head, they bellowed loudly, she could feel them run around her, some of them on her as she painfully felt a hoof step on her side. She waited until everything went silent before sitting up, catching the glimpse of the herd disappearing into the other side of the field.

She rubbed her side hissing in pain, " The hell. What spooked them...?" She looked down at her pile of dry leaves, all of them scatted and crushed, she sighs, " Great..." She picks up the sticks that were still intact and climbed to her feet, continuing her way back to her back the campsite.

As she moved through the dark woods, her wandering gaze caught ... something, something that looked like a large dog, standing near a tree a few meters away. In the near dark, she couldn't make it out very well, but when its massive head pulled up from the ground and looked in her direction, something about the animal made her spine tremble a bit. She had never seen a wild dog or wolf act so focused on its own.

"Just... keep moving Zahirah. It wants nothing to do with you ... ", Zahirah began to head for the campsite, making a small detour, giving the creature a wide breath so it would feel no need to get aggressive. When she heard footfalls coming to her direction, she turned to notice the animal now was walking towards her, a steady growling coming from its muzzle. As she backed away a little, panic crept into her steps, Zahirah knew it would be a bad idea to run, that would only make it pursue her as her running would make it think she was prey but at this point, she didn't care, every inch of her body was saying, 'Run.'. Zahirah stared a moment longer than ... she bolted, dropping the sticks as she did. She ran as fast as she could through the forest, not looking back if she was getting chased or not. Her breath came in small spurts, hot and nervous, fingers curled into fists, swinging forward as if it would make her faster. Behind her, she could have sworn, she heard a snarl and Zahirah threw herself forward with even greater abandon. Her lungs and heart were pumping, but the air didn't seem to be enough as she sprinted forward, panic trembling in her limbs. It wasn't until she saw the light of fire peering through the dark, she made a beeline for it until she finally burst out of the foliage into the campsite.

Everybody looked at her as she stood there, leaning back on her knees, catching her breath, " Zahirah...? You alright?"One of them asked.

 Her brother moved over to her, placing a hand on her back, " Sis...?"

Zahirah finally spoke, " ... There ... There ... " The words seemed to stumble and fumble out of her mouth as she back away from the foliage, staring out at the forest's edge, fearfully, " There was ... this herd and this... this thing ... this ... creature... out there... I-It was huge ... I don't know .... if ... it ... it followed me ... I-"

"Hey hey hey ... It's alright, Sis ... Whatever that thing was out there, it won't attack here, there's too many of us ... if it was chasing you, seeing us would have turned it off by now. " Her brother reassured her.

She takes a breath and slowly relaxed. Zachariah was right, there was five of them if it were to attack it would have to deal with them, " Yeah ... Yeah, you're right, Bro. I'm just ... a little shaken u -"

Something - a blur of fur and fangs - flew past Zachariah, a scream of pure agony ripped the once calm and happy air apart. They both turned to see Rachal on the ground, still, eyes rolled back, blood - looking almost black in the lighting - dripping from the corner of her lips in a steady stream as her throat was completely torn out. The large creature stood over her, muzzle and teeth bloodied, looking among them, snarling as if it was choosing its next target.

"RACHAL!!" Agatha screamed out in horror.

Hal stood there, completely stricken by shock at what had just happened, each of them stood still until the creature lunged again this time at Agatha, who froze on the spot, "NO!" Hal finally moved again, pushing her out of the way as he was tackled onto the floor, wrestling with a beast as it tore into him, " Get the Flare! Get the Flare!" He cried out.

Zahriah snapped out of it momentarily when she remembered, Right...! Since the animal attacks, the Park Rangers have been working overtime to keep all campers safe telling them, if they have a flare and trouble arises, they are to shoot it into the air and they would come running.  The flare was in the van, didn't they have a gun in there too? Zahirah moved, " Sis!" Her brother called out to her as she bolted to the van and climbed inside. She ran to the front of the van and popped open the glove compartment. Zahirah watched it swung open, the flare gun and pistol laid snug inside as she grabbed both, making sure the pistol was fully loaded and ready to fire.

Another scream sounded, a familiar male one, "Brother!" She quickly ran back out and the moment as she did, something big and heavy suddenly slammed into her, throwing her into the ground with its weight alone. The flare gun and pistol flew out of her hands and onto the ground.

It stunned her for a moment, she felt several of her ribs break under the force, but she managed to recover quickly - fueled by adrenaline - to see rows of drooling, sharpened teeth and fangs bearing down, lunging for her throat. She struggled wildly, trying to claw and punch at the beast that had her, but the strength of the creature was unreal, it kept her in place as its claws dug deep, piercing her skin, and raked through her flesh, letting her blood flow. She struggled harder, twisting her neck away, managing to redirect the lethal bite to her shoulder. 

She bawled out a sound of utter anguish and pain; a pain unlike anything she has ever felt, tears rolled down her face as the beast tore into her shoulder, fangs tossing around, ripping and tearing skin and flesh until a loud _**BANG!**_ rang out, the beast lets out a pained yelp as a bullet struck its leg, staggering slightly before it sharply turned, facing her brother with a vicious snarl, golden eyes piercing his as he gripped the pistol tightly. Zahirah could see that the thing already scrapped with him, his clothes were bloody and ripped, claw marks on his chest and arm, the right half of his jeans were torn where a nasty bite was left on his thigh, she's surprised he can even stand, “Leave my sister alone! You fucking monster!”

The creature only lets out an angered roar before lunging at her brother, armed with only a simple pistol. The fight was very one-sided, her brother tried to aim for its soft parts, its nose, and eyes, but it did very little to harm or deter it. Its claws ripped through his shirt like paper, dug and tore into his side and leg. It tried to go for his throat, but pulled up his arm and let it take the bite, wrestling with the yellow-eyed beast until he pulled back a foot and kicked it hard in its wounded leg. The beast drew back with a pained yelp then, after a moment, was about to lunge forward again, but Zachariah let out another shot, meant for its head but hitting its left shoulder instead.

Zahirah was still laying there on the ground, trying to force her body to move and help her brother, that rush of adrenaline that numbed most of the pain was beginning to pass. She listened to the struggles and pained grunts and screams of her brother as he tried to fend off the beast. The sickly smell of copper was beginning to fill the air; blood. 

She was bleeding out, steadily and was in so much pain that she felt like she couldn’t move at all… but she summoned the energy to slowly sit up to watch her brother get tossed almost like a rag doll against the nearby tree, his body limp and unmoving. She soon spotted the flare gun and slowly crawl towards it as with a rumbling snarl, the beast was prowl towards her brother, most likely to finish the job. Hal looked like he had been ripped apart, Agatha though in as bad of a shape as she was, her chest was still moving, barely.

Her hand touched the cold metal of the flare gun, she gripped it aimed it at the sky then fired, she watched it fly high before lighting ablaze glowing a bright red in the sky. It was only a matter of time now.

She looked back, the monster was almost on top of her brother, about to tear into him. Zahriah threw her arm back and threw the flare gun, watching it hit the beast on the side, “H … HEY!” She called out, its yellow eyes flicked towards her direction, “D-Did you forget about me…? You... damn mangy _beast_ …! Finish fucking what you started…!” She coughed up a few specks of blood.

Its eyes narrowed and before she could even react with one bound the creature was upon her again, claws raked her thigh and arm, her clothing was being stained red as the beast bites down on her side, tearing into it before tossing her harshly. She felt another bone break as she hits the ground, hissing in pain, lying there. She could hear the beast moving towards her, its paw crunching the dead leave underfoot, but she could feel heat close to her, when she opened her eyes, she right in front of the laid the dying campfire, still burning, she stared at the rock that lies close to the fire, almost in it. It must be pretty hot right now ... 

She looked back, the monster was right next to her, jaws open, poised to tear into her. Without even thinking, she grabbed the rock, ignoring the moment of burning pain, and stuffed it into the monster's open maw. It drew back, thrashing, tossing its head sides to side, hacking and coughing, trying to spit out the burning piece of coal in its throat, but seemingly failing until it finally bolts, disappearing into the foliage of the dark forest, screaming out agony as it retreated. 

She laid there, her breathing somewhat shallow, staring at the fire. It was funny how a night of fun, laughing, joking around devolved into utter pain, horror, and death, two of her friends were dead, one was barely alive and her brother, she didn't know if he was even alive ... 

And that thing, that monster ... 

The edges of her vision slowly began to close in, she started to feel lightheaded, and was just beginning to feel… cold. It reminded her that she still losing blood, at this point, it didn’t matter, all she could do is wait. She stayed conscious as long as she could to hear the distant sound of rumbling truck engines drawing close ... 

 

_*** * *** _

 

 _It was dark,_ nighttime _, stars glittered and sparkled, the full moon, the glorious full moon hung high in the sky casting a pale silver glow upon the land, free, untouched by man. She was running, no, galloping, on all fours, she felt like it should be weird to move in such a manner but instead it felt … natural. She loved it, it gave her a feeling she had never felt before… freedom, utter_ freedom _, and power. All her worries, fears, responsibilities, and problems were gone, it was only her, the forest, and the moon._

 _She was moving fast, faster than she has ever moved before, her surroundings were a blur as her powerful legs launched her forwards. She could smell everything - the feces and urine of several other animals; some old, some fresh, the soft acrid scents of gunpowder, oil, and metal from hunters long gone, and the different scents of the herds,_ plants _, and mushrooms the grew within the forest. Her sensitive, pointed ears picked up the tiny, frightened animals that quickly scurried through the dead leaves and grass then she smelt something; something good._

_The scent of prey._

_Saliva pooled in her jaws, tongue lolling from her mouth. She felt something gnawing at her, she thought it was just hunger, but it was… something more. She was craving the taste of flesh and blood on her tongue. To sink her fangs into something living and taste its blood filled her every thought. She growled in her chest, filled with aching desire and a ravenous craving for meat…_

_As the scent got stronger, she slowed from a_ gallop _to a trot, to a walk, then to a creep. Her body low to the ground, careful steps avoiding crunchy leaves and small twigs. Eyes scanned the area intently until she saw and heard movement._

_Small and nimble._

_A rabbit stood in the field nibbling on grass, unaware of her presence, she watched it closely and intently, her legs were bunched into a readied pounce. She licked her lips then … she lunged!_

_The poor thing didn’t even see her coming, within moments she was upon it, her jaws wrapped around its neck as she tore into the poor creature. It let out a pained and panicked screech until there was a snap!_

_It went quiet, she felt go limp in her jaws, she drops it onto the grass. Blood stained her lips, her tongue snakes out, tasting it. Somehow, despite the coppery taste, it was so good. She closed her eyes and found herself digging in, tearing through fur and into flesh. She felt like she should be disgusted by herself, horrified by what she had done but all of that faded away as she ate. It tasted so good, better than anything she has ever eaten before. As she continued to eat, that feeling from before began to evaporate._

_She soon opened her eyes and they widened in horror, she wasn’t eating a rabbit anymore, it was a man, his throat torn out, eyes rolled back, dead; his face frozen in fear and pain. She was ripping out his organs, eating him. The ground below them was nothing but blood. She wanted to stop, she tried to stop, but she couldn’t, she had no control over her body. It just kept eating and eating, tearing out chunk after chunk and swallowing it whole._

_No._

_No!_

**_STOP!_ **

* * *

 

**_To Be Continued ..._ **


	4. Homebound

**Friday, August 25th**

**11: 15 a.m.**

**Moon Phase**

_Waning Crescent_

"STOP!" She yelled as she sat up on the bed, gasping as her mind reeled, dazed and panicked. It took her a minute to calm down and realized she wasn't laying down in the dirt of the campsite anymore. A soft white curtain sat in front of her as she laid on a soft bed, handles framed the sides. A warm blanket wrapped around her body as the blank black screen of an old TV hung in the corner, facing her, " What...?"

She turned her head to the right to see a table with a vase full of beautiful and colorful flowers of different breeds, cards laid next to them. She leaned in a bit the see the wording on them, they were from her family and besides the table was an open window. It was morning, warm sunlight washed in through the window, where she could see the streets below, people moving along the sidewalks as cars rolled down the black pavement.

She looked to her left to see medical equipment, a heart monitor that tracked her heart rate as a stand with a pack of fluid hooked to it, tubes running from it to her arm, pumping its contents into her. It wasn't long for her to put it together, she was in a hospital.

She could barely remember anything from the night of the attack.

Zahirah soon noticed her stiff moving body and with a free hand, looked under the gown she wore, bandages, and pads wrapped around a good portion of her body, especially around her chest. When she thought about it now, the whole attack felt like some kind of fever dream, but the bandages said otherwise then it hit her, she wasn't the only one attacked that night, "Zachariah... Rachal ... Agatha ... Hal ...", she looked down to remote and grabbed it, pressing the Nurse button.

She was usually a patient person but this was an agonizing wait, she didn't know if her brother or her friends were alive and that made her panic. She didn't know what she would do or feel if her brother was dead. Eventually, something slid open and a hand pulled aside the curtain, a woman in a white dress walks in, " Ah, Ms. Kovar. You're awake. After all, you two have been through - it's a surprise you both are even alive..." She grabs the clipboard off the bed.

" Why do you say that ...?" Zahriah asked.

" Well ... you both got checked into the hospital with severe wounds - bruises, deep lacerations, blood loss, and broken bones. Mr. Kovar had it a bit worse than you but the two of you were in critical condition for a while. " The Nurse continued, " Then you both began to break out into a high fever, slipping in and out of consciousness, barely eating. Your conditions kept teetering back and forth until it finally stabilized."

She looked to Zahirah, "How do you feel?" 

She thought about, "Better but I feel tired ... and ..."

" And?"

" Really hungry ... " She felt her stomach groan and twist, she felt an empty pit in her stomach like she hasn't eaten in months. How long has it been since she ate ...?

"Ah, understandable.... You have been out for two whole weeks after all." The Nurse responded, writing on the clipboard once more.

" Two weeks?!"

" Yep. We did all we could physically and medically. After that, all we could do was wait until you managed to stabilize on your own. I'll make sure to grab you some breakfast. "

Zahirah was quiet until she remembered why she called the Nurse here in the first place, " Oh! My brother is he... alright?"

"Hm?" The Nurse looked at her, "Yeah. He's in the room next to yours. Still asleep. "

She lets out a small sigh of relief, but then asked, " And ... my friends...?"

The Nurse was silent, " ... ... Racheal McGerald and Hal Micheal were both dead at the scene when cops and paramedics arrived ... Agatha Mayweather is still in Critical Condition. You two are very lucky. Police and Rangers are searching the woods trying to find the creature and put it down. You two are _very_ lucky to have survived - it was definitely trying to go for the kill."

" Right ... " She could faintly remember the creature that attacked them, looking like something out of a nightmarish hellhole. Zahirah found herself, curling inward.

"... Is there anything else you wanna ask ...?" The Nurse inquired.

"No..." She replied.

"Alright. After you eat, I'll get the Doctor to change your bandages. It's been awhile since we changed them."

Zahirah nods and the Nurse leaves out the room, disappearing behind the curtain and out the door, leaving her with her thoughts and grief. She had been friends with Racheal and Agatha since she was a Freshman in High School and even when they all graduated, they made sure to keep in contact with one another, hang out when they had the time. Hal and Zachariah had been together since Middle school. And now they're gone, two of them were probably in body bags being examined by cops and the other was barely clinging to life. 

Tears started to build in the corner of her eyes, all those happy memories seemed so far away, all they did was bring grief and pain, "It's ... my fault... This is all _my_ fault. If I hadn't run o-or had just led it away...! Maybe they ... "She buried her face in her pillow for a while letting it soak her tears before she found herself looking out the window, looking down at the people and cars. To escape the pain, she let her mind drift, retreating back to the weird fever dream she had; of her running through the forest, free and untethered, powerful and dangerous - all of her worries, fears, and problems, all of it, gone, banished far from her mind. It was strange, she never had anything like it. She leans back on the bed with a sigh and closes her eyes.

More than several minutes later, the door creak! again opening once more. The Nurse walked in with a plate of food along with another woman with long hair and a coat shirt, The Doctor, most likely, pushing in a rolling cart, " Greetings, Ms. Kovar. My name Carole. Thought we would lose you both from that bad fever."

"So I've heard ..."

The Nurse placed the plate in front of her as the Doctor checked on the clipboard. By the time she looked back at Zahirah, the food was gone, nothing but an empty plate and cup was left, " Oh, wow. You must have been starving. "

" Yeah." She licked her lips.

" Well, might as well get on with the bandages. Please take off your gown." The Doctor grabbed a pair of scissors off the car as Zahirah pulled up her gown, revealing the patches and wraps off bandages. Doctor Carolyn went for the main one on her chest, carefully wedging the bottom half of the scissors under the bandages and carefully wedging the bottom half of the scissors under the bandages and began cutting. She remembered that her left shoulder was where the beast tore into her, she was fully expecting to see gruesome wounds, still healing, something that would mark her for life, but when the bandages were peeled away, she saw that the wound had healed better than she ever expected it to. It might not even scar.

She smiled, personally pleased, but when she looked to Dr. Carolyn, her brows were furrowed, she was in utter bafflement, " How is this possible ...?"

"What?"

" Your wounds ... healed faster than any person I've ever treated ..." The Doctor then checked all of them were healing very well.

" ... ... Isn't that good?" Zahriah questioned.

" I ... I don't know. The lacerations you had were ... too serious to not scar." Dr. Carolyn went quiet and stepped back, standing there, a face that looked like a mix of awe and ... something else ... before muttering something. The Nurse walks over to her, placing a concerned hand on the Doctor's shoulder, " You alright?"

"Y-Yes... It's just that wounds as serious as hers shouldn't ... don't heal like that. It's unnatural ..." Upon hearing that, Zahirah found herself squirming a bit, feeling like they were being put under a spotlight, she feared that she may be interrogated for information she doesn't have. 

She doesn't know why she was healing like she was, but it weirds her out as well now that she thought about it. She doesn't know how long ago since Dr. Carolyn cleaned and replaced her bandages, but judging by the reaction from her healed wounds, it must not have been that long ago.

" Uh... Dr. Carolyn. When can I go home?" Zahirah asked trying to change the subject.

" Well, you said you felt a bit tired and weak, yes?"

She nods.

"We'll keep you just for a couple of days, just to make sure you're alright. We'll run a few simple test and if everything is in green then you will be signed out and free to go."

"Okay." Dr.Carolyn then left out the room, the Nurse was about to as well until Zahirah stopped her, " Oh! Nurse Brooks, can you get me some more food? I'm still hungry..."

She nodded, " Okay." She then left out the open doorway pulling the cart along with her.

After she was given the fourth plate of food, she began to realize that she was eating more than she usually does, by the second helping she would be full, but by the fourth plate, she hardly felt remotely close to full but she wasn't hungry either. She didn't ask for another plate after that, she already felt like enough of a freak already.

Policemen came the next day, being one of the two surviving witnesses they asked her how much she remembered of the attack, and about the animal that attacked them. She told them as much as she could, trying to remember through the haze of emotions, she described the creature as best as she could as some kind of huge wild dog or possibly even a wolf. It attacked without reason and with little mercy. And it was strong.

They told her that from the autopsy they done on the bodies and the tracks that were left at the scene that what attacked was, in fact, a wolf. But no wolf would be so aggressive and a lone wolf never attack campers like that. It all sounded strange, but what mattered now was tracking and killing the animal before anybody else gets hurt. They had questioned her brother as well before bidding them a good day and leaving.

A couple of more days passed before the Doctors gave Zahirah and her sibling the tests, as they pass, they were checked out of the hospital after being given new clothes. They waved the Doctor and Nurse off as they left out into the waiting room, where their Mother and Father laid in wait. They ran up to them and hugged them tightly.

"We were so worried!" Her Mother said, words stumbling, " When we got the came that you and your friends got attack by some crazy wild dog we didn't know what to do!"

"Sorry to make you worry, Mom..." She said.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your friends... They're setting up the Funerals and they just sent us the invitations. Right now all that matters is that you and your brother are alive to tell the tale..." Zahirah nods, "Now... Let's go home."

The four of them walked out of the hospital and to the car, driving home. During the drive, Zahirah checked her phone, typing in the password before the background picture of her and Trevor posing together with a smile came up. A smile tugged at her lips as she looked down, she had had a ton of unread texts. She tapped on the app with a finger, opening it. Most of the texts were from two weeks ago, most of them were from her parents, they were practically panicking from the texts she saw. She could only guess how long before they gotten a call from the hospital about what happened.  Others were from Trevor, asking what was happening and why she hasn't been answering his texts.

She starts texting him.

**\---**

Trevor? - [text]

[text] - Zahirah? You okay? I heard what happened.

Yeah. I'm fine.  Just got out of the hospital with the approval of the Doctor. - [text]

[text] - That's good... 

[text] - Do you ... want to talk about it?

No. I ... just want to relax... - [text]

[text] - Alright, I'll leave you then. Be well Zahirah.

Thanks ... - [text]

**\---**

It was a twenty-five-minute drive as they soon pulled up into the driveway of their home. All Zahirah could think about was slipping into bed, today had been both physically and mentally tiring. 

" I'll make your favorite dishes if you want?" Her Father asked, " We even got a cake in the refrigerator."

"I'll have some later..." Zahriah waved off as she stepped upstairs and disappeared into her room; it was a mess, untouched from the last time she had been here. She was going to clean it up when she got back from her camping trip until ... all of that happened.

She spruced up a bit, picking up dirty clothes and toys from off the floor before laying in bed with a sigh. She couldn't lie to herself what happened at the hospital freaked her out a little. She was kind of afraid that the Doctor would have called in scientists to poke and prod at them, asking questions, maybe even ... dissecting them?

Zahriah scooted over to her room window and pulls the blinds down a bit, looking out as if waiting for some kind of white van to pull into their yard, for people in maks to come rushing in and take them away. She looks back at her phone and notices the low battery, she plugs it up. Was it a good idea to go back to work after everything that just happened? 

Maybe ... it's best to take a few more days off ... then return. She thought as a sigh escapes her lips. Zahriah laid back into bed, staring up at the painted ceiling before finding herself slowly drifting to sleep. 

* * *

 

_**To Be Continued ...** _

 


	5. The Signs

**Monday, August 28rd**

**3:45 p.m.**

**Moon Phase**

_First Quarter_  

 _ **Z**_ achariah and his Father walked down the aisles of the Gas Stop with a hand full of snacks. His Father was taking him to the movies to help take his mind off the death of his friend, - at least to help him have a steady mind when he went to Hal's Funeral to give a speech - and to save money, they would sneak in their own snacks.

“ You got what you wanted?”

“Yeah. Let’s go pay for this stuff.”

They walked over to the cash register and paid for their snacks, each walking out with a bag. As they began to walk to the car, they heard a scream. Zachariah’s head turned just in time to see a young man in a grey coat push past him and running down the street with a pocket bag in his hand.

“Stop him! He stole my purse!” yelled out an old lady in a flora dressing.

“Zac, maybe we should-” His Father watched as Zachariah ran past him, pursuing the purse snatcher, “Zac! Wait!”

The man had a good head start on him,  already halfway down the street. “Come on.” He muttered to himself, pushing his body to go faster … then he noticed how fast he was going, his surroundings almost blurred around him as he was quickly beginning to catch up with the thief. As the thief turned into an alleyway, a hand grabbed him by the hood of his jacket and roughly pulled him to the ground. Before he could get back up, a strong, firm hand wrapped tightly around his neck, lifting him up off the ground with inhuman strength and slamming him into the stone wall of a building. His feet dangled from the ground, he could barely breathe.

“T-The fuck!” The man looked at Zachariah and was quickly unnerved by the look he was giving him, his lips pulled up into a toothy snarl, his eyes darkened, having an almost predatory glint to them, “W-What … What are you?”

“Zac!” His fierce eyes snapped to see the frightened face of his father, “ Zac… I think he had enough …”

Zachariah took a deep breath, coming back to his senses as he steps away, letting the shaken thug drop to the ground, “… Leave …” he only stares, his face a mix of fear and confusion until Zachariah almost snarls out, “NOW!” The thief scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could.

“ What was that…? You scared the absolute piss out of that guy ... ”

“ I … I don’t know …” Zachariah spots the purse on the ground and moves over to pick it up, “ Come on …”

As they walked back to the parking lot, whatever happened dawned on him, he has never done something like that before ever, for a split second, he didn’t feel like… himself. When he had the thief pinned to the wall like that it felt satisfying, he wanted to… tear into him.

“Here you go, Madam.” He gave the purse back to the elderly woman and she gave him a wrinkled smile of gratitude.

“Thank you, young man. I wish there were more people like you these days…”

“It’s no problem. Have a nice day.” Zachariah waved off the old woman and returned to his Father's side, taking his bag of candy out of his hand, “Well … we don’t want to miss our movie. Come on…”

"Yeah ... "

*** * ***

Zahirah stared at the food on her plate, poking at the eggs with a fork until her name was called, “Zahirah?”

“Hm?” She looked up from her plate to her Mother as she sat on the other side of the table, the built-in umbrella protecting them from the heat of the sun as they ate.

“You okay?”

“Yeah … I’m fine.” She answers, “Why you ask?”

“Well, you look kind of out of it… ” She stated.

“I - I’m sorry.” said Zahirah as she sat up, “I should be perkier than this … … ”

“It’s alright, Zahirah.” said her Mother, sympathetically, “I’m sure after that attack and hearing your friend's death -- you’re still a bit rattled.”

“I guess you can say that … ”

“Well, I’m sure a bit of Mother-Daughter time at the Mall will help you. So hurry up with your food.”

“Alright, alright”, Zahirah began to dig into her food, taking a few bites into her sausages until the sharp, loud ringing of a phone went off in her ear. She winced, holding her ears, thinking it was some prank from her Mother, but she was busy eating. Zahirah looked around the restaurant, slightly disoriented by the loud sound before she began to follow it, looking at a young teen, standing across the street, the ringing stopped when she finally picked up the phone, chatting with her friends about shopping and other feminine things as she waited for the light to change.

Her brows furrowed, utterly baffled, she could hear any whisper or murmur from the tables around them clearly like they were talking out loud, so many that she couldn’t make anything out, it was just a cacophony of voices and sounds. Zahirah was forced to listen to them, all of it, she couldn’t stop it. She could … _smell_ things as well - of people, the grease of the foods, the exhaust from a nearby car, the puff of cigarette smoke, of a woman and a child that had around an hour ago passed by the establishment. It was so much to take in that it was almost overwhelming, she thought she might pass out right there on the spot.

Zahriah heard voice nearby, close, she looks back up and sees a man wearing a denim jacket and slicked back hair, standing at their table talking to her mother. She could see the look in her eyes, uninterested, but the man pressed on, his hand reaching out to touch her. With a snarl, she leaped from her seat and grabbed the man wrist squeezing it with a vice-like grip, he winced struggling to get away, “The hell?! You crazy bitch! Let go of me!”

“Don’t touch my Mother!!” She snarls out, glaring him with such ferocity that he might as well been staring into the eye of an angry beast. It made every hair on his body stand on end. She harshly pushes back him back, making him stumble backward and fall onto his rear. The man scrambles to his feet and quickly walks off, rubbing at his wrists, giving her a sly passing leer.

Her chest heaved slightly as she stood there staring until she hears a voice - her Mother's voice.

“Zahirah … ” Her head turned, she looked to her Mother, who was looking at her with a face full of concern, “ You okay … ?”

“S - Sorry … I… ” Zahirah regained her sense, running a hand through her hair.

“Yeah, you sure you’re alright, Zahirah … ?” She asked, “ Sure - that guy was a bit of a scumbag but… ”

Zahirah was quiet at first, “Y - Yes, I’m fine. I feel fine … ” Zahirah said before turning and walking off, “I … need to go to the bathroom …”

She heads to the nearest girl’s bathroom inside the, she takes a deep breath, and looks at herself in the mirror, staring at her reflection, “What was is wrong with you? You’re freaking out your friends …” She takes a deep breath and he looked back at her reflection, her eyes - her hazel blue eyes were glowing!

She stumbles backward and slipping, falling onto her butt. She sat there on the tile floor for a good minute, spooked by what she had seen, as she stares up at the mirror. She slowly climbs back to her feet and then looks at her reflection. Her eyes were back to normal.

She takes a deep breath, “Great. Now, you’re seeing things… ” She splashes her face lightly with some cold water before leaving out the bathroom and going back to her concerned Mother.

Her Mother was quite when she returns to her seat, “ You sure you okay, Zahirah?” She asked again for reassurance.

“Yes, I’m sure.” She replied sternly, going back to her plate, "I'm fine."

But in reality, she didn’t even know herself …

*** * ***

**Wednesday, August 30th**

**5:35 p.m.**  

_ **Moon Phase** _

_Waxing Gibbous_

Sorrow was tangible in the Church and it hung over them like a heavy blanket, it was something that she felt like she could take a literal bite out of right now. Zahirah and her Mother went to Rachal's funeral when her brother and Father went to Hal's. A good row was filled with Rachal's old friends including her, of course. After the preacher blessed Rachal's body, making sure her soul was sent to God before letting the family say their parting words.

Every word of their speeches oozed their pain and sorrow, their loss, their love and care they had for Rachal. Soon, it came to her turn...

She stood at the altar, silent for a while before she spoke, " There's ... no words I could say that hasn't been said already... Rachal was my friend ... my best friend ... Those three days out there were supposed to be fun. We hadn't seen each other in months since we graduated from High School and ...  And some _savage_ beast tried to take our lives ... I wish ... that is wasn't just me and my brother that survived. I wished we all survived that night... I wished weren't here ...! We don't deserve this pain! This heartache! This loss! _WE_ don't deserve any of this..." She looks back at the casket, " Rachal ... I'm sorry... if you're here, I'm sorry ... " Zahirah stepped off the altar after that.

She gave a glance at her Mother who nodded at her with a somber look. They didn't stay long, Zahirah could hear the whispers from the other, some of them blamed her for Rachal's death. She had no control over the situation, she was scared and that creature, that _wolf_ , the forensics told them, chased her down, all the way to the campsite.

It was the killer, not her.

*** * ***

**Monday, September 4th**

**7:35 p.m.**

**Moon Phase**

_Waxing Gibbous_

All day, Zahirah felt off, she couldn't explain it herself but, she could _feel_ something inside of her, sitting, waiting, just underneath the skin, wanting to be released, ready and eager to leap out. It was like her whole body felt like it was rioting against her. Her senses were stronger as well, everything much sharper; sounds, smells, sights. She could smell what people ate for breakfast or lunch, the still drying ink of the new books that were being loaded into the library today and hear the whisper people had with each other. It gave her a headache at how loud and strong everything was and unnoticed to her she was a bit more prickly than usual.

Zahriah rubbed at her temples as she pushed the book car down the aisle, doing her usual work - putting books up on the shelves, mostly they were the new books, already marked, tapped and ready for them to be put up on the shelves, she gave a sparing glance to one, its title; History of Lycanthropy.

 _Lycanthropy…? As in … Werewolves?_ She thought rose an eyebrow then rolled her eyes. Werewolves were nothing, but myth and legend, a fantasy creature told in fairy tales, games, books and TV shows. Though the term is a psychological disorder that some people do have, it is - for a fact - scientifically and physically impossible for a human to turn into a wolf-like creature and it was obviously marked for the Fiction aisle, all of it written by a supposed Cryptozoologist named, Ashton Comeau.

The cover of the book had a draw of a Werewolf, a cross between man and beast. The depiction of a werewolf varied, some picture a werewolf as a human with wolf-esque features, and others just simply a man taking the form of a wolf.

Strangely enough, the depiction reminded her of the vicious creature that attacked the campsite a month ago, its posture was off for it to be truly a wolf, its legs looked too long for its body and its front paws were large, looking more like clawed hands than paws and it was standing on its hind legs like a human, " Weird..."

Zahriah puts it back onto the cart as she continues on with her work.

*** * ***

 

The sky slowly grew darker, the light was beginning covered by a rapidly falling night, the fiery sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon. Letting bitter cold and darkness reign. The feeling slowly grew worse as the night drew closer until she found herself waking up, able barely sleep. Her whole body felt restless, trembling badly as she laid in bed.

Soon, Zahirah began to feel hot, at first, she thought it was the blanket she had wrapped herself in, but even as she pulled them off, her body still felt hot. She groans and climbs out of her bed, flipping the hatch on her window and pulled it open, letting cool air rush in as she stared out at the darkness crawling across the sky.

As time passed, the bright blue sky then transformed into an ocean of blackness and shimmering stars, a fat silvery moon is just beginning to peak over the horizon, steadily rising, climbing higher and higher into the sky, giving off the only natural source of light in the black night sky, as if to remind all that even in darkness there is still light. A cool breeze swept through the trees. Owls swept silently overhead.

Her entire body was burning up and was steadily getting worse, it had built from the pit of her stomach and traveling outwards to her limbs, “Ugh …” Her head was pounding with a growing migraine, she cradled her head, feeling like it was being torn in half as two opposing forces pulled at her mind and the tension kept building. That feeling she had felt all day it grew even worse, she could feel it, something … feral and bestial stirring within her, it was anxious and restless, she could feel its urges; it wanted to run, to prowl, to hunt … to feed…

It scared her, she didn’t know where it came from, but it certainly was coming from her, some part of her that she has never felt before in her life. This room - her room- it was ... too small, she needed to leave, she needed to get out now. Zahirah tried her best to keep herself calm, but only ragged breaths escaped her lips as she wasted no time, she quickly made her way out of her room and met up with her brother at the back door, “Are you burning up … too?”

She nods, “ Yeah. Feels like my whole body just been … thrown into a pit of fire.”

“We need to go…” They moved with haste, down the stairs, and out the back door. Without even thinking, they managed to climb over the fence and run out into the woods

“ S … Shit …!” She looks back to see her brother almost double over, wincing in pain gripping his stomach.

“You okay…?!”

“ M-My stomach… ugh! … It .. hurts…”

She was quiet at first, “ I … It’ll be okay … It’s probably just a stomach ache … Can you still walk...?”

He nods, still moving, though in a bit more of a sluggish pace. After several minutes of walking, she began to feel a short twinge in the pit of her stomach, then a moment later, she winced, stopping in her tracks and leaning up against a tree as she could feel something moving underneath her shirt. She glanced down at her belly, wondering what was happening then lifted her shirt slightly. Her eyes widened in horror, muttering under her breath, “O-Oh god…”

Her organs … were moving, squirming beneath her skin, rippling, looking like snakes as they started shifted around into new positions inside of her, she could hear the squelching sound of them rubbing up against one another. She groaning loudly, gripping at her stomach, trying her best not to scream out in pain as her organs continued to squirm within her, feeling like they were put into a blender, “ Sis… ?”

Ragged, pained breaths escaped her in gasps, “ M-My stomach…” She whimpers, then there was a sudden loud _**CRACK!**_ Her brother lets out a pained yelp as she started to hear weird popping noises, her brother grunting in pain again.

“Arggh… my hands…” She looked, catching a glance of one of them. With wide eyes, she watched the fingers, twitch and jerk, looking like they were moving on their own as thick, sharp claws began to slowly push up and out from underneath his human nails, “Aahh… What’s … uurrghh… happening…?”

She was silent, shaking her head slowly, she didn’t know how to answer until there was a sudden loud _**CRACK!**_ This time from her, “Aarghh!!” She cried out in alarm and lurched forward as it felt like someone crushed them. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears building in the corners of her eyes as the bones in her hands continued to crack, her fingernails felt as if someone was piercing through them with large rusty metal nails; strangely she felt her nails, both on her fingers and toes, moving. She soon opened her eyes again…and was met with the frightening sight; new nails, claws, began to push up from underneath her nails, just like with her brother's. They cracked as they slowly grew longer and sharper, becoming talon-like in shape.

Her jaw dropped as she raised her shaky hand out in front of her, watching them slowly grow. She shook her head in a panicked manner, eyes wide in disbelief, as she slightly moved her fingers, her claws still lengthening; she let out frightened heaving as her body trembled, “N … No way … ”

* * *

 

_**To Be Continued ...** _


	6. Change

_**Z**_ ahirah hugged her stomach as she curled up and fell to her side in a fetal-like position. Her entire being was overtaken by excruciating and agonizing pain. She struggled to hold tongue, her body was shaking, but it wasn’t from fear this time. Everything hurt; she was completely paralyzed from the awful pain, even the slightest movement caused her discomfort. Something was tearing her apart from the inside out.

Zahirah drew her arms in closer as she once again squeezed his eyes shut. An itch started on her left arm, which soon grew into a prickling sensation that had begun to gradually run up and down her arm. The itch then went from annoying to outright painful like a thousand needles prodded her light brown skin, or at least that's what it felt like. The next time she glanced down at her arm, she saw that tiny light brown hairs had grown out around the middle of her forearm. These hairs kept getting longer while more and more grew out along her entire arm. Her whole body was still burning up, and it was only getting increasing worse, sweat dripping off her chin.

“B - Brother…” Zahirah managed to utter as she looked to Zachariah, she could see him, curled up in pain. He had kicked off his slippers, the same claws that were growing out from her hands were currently growing out from his toes and were now ripping through his socks. It seems he was a bit further along than she was, “Ugh..!” She let out a pained groan; she felt the claws that was steadily growing from her toes, beginning to push at the tip of her socks. Using her feet, she tried to pull off her socks but only managed to tear them.

Her digits shrink slightly, as the palm of her hand grows longer and wider with a long _creeeeaak!_ Zahirah shuddered in pain, the skin on the palms of her hands, darkening, and hardening as black lumps formed, fur grew around it, looking like the paw pads of a dog, transformed into a combination of a human hand and a canine paw. But she could still move them like human hands, but it felt strangely awkward to do so as they were much larger than her once human hand. Soon, the same happens to her other hand, with a symphony of pops and cracks. More hairs begin to pop up, this time on and around her shoulders, covering her shoulder blades, as well around her chest as around. Short brown and white hairs growing moving between her breasts. It slowly begins to move down her stomach in a thin line. She feels another tingling sensation on the tips of her ears. They are slowly beginning to point to the corners of her pounding head.

She could hear her brother screaming out in agony, she managed to look up, seeing that he was naked, he had torn off most of his clothing with his newfound claws, fur was starting to grow out and now, his body was given out sicken pops and snaps, she could see his spine poking out from his skin, something was poking out, he seemed to be growing out what seemed to be a … tail. Tears dripped her chin at the fruitlessness out it all, she couldn’t stop it, she was turning into a monster and there was nothing she could do to stop it…

The heat was starting to become unbearable, her whole body burning up like she had been chucked into a bonfire. Zahirah found herself ripping at her clothes without even thinking, tearing them off, almost frantically. She clawed at her bra, trying to unhook it, accidentally drawing blood as her claws scratching her, but all attempts are futile as it naturally snaps off.

Her breathing became labored as her organs began to shove up against one another. With every beat of her heart, they ballooned in size pushing out against her ribs and the soft skin of her belly looking for the room to grow.

**_CRACK!_ **

She howled out in agony as her back arched upwards, snapping and slithering around beneath her growing thick hide of fur. Tears leaked from the corner of his eyes, running in a small stream down her burning face. Gasps were all she could manage now as her organs continued to swell within her body and with every beat of her overly large heart.

_**SNAP!** _

Anything article of clothing that was still left on her body soon completely snapped and ripped off as her ribcage popped near her sternum. "Agggh … noooo … S - Stop … Stop please." Yet, as her ribs expanded, it brought relief as she finally had room to breath with her now immense lungs.

_**CRACK!** _

Her chest was forced outwards as her ribs widened, pressing against her skin. The hair is growing at an alarming rate at this point, all around her torso and arms. It begins to grow around her widening pelvis as her underwear rips off. She can feel similar changes happening to her feet as they did to her hands. She can feel the pads of dead skin forming on the bottoms of her feet.

Zahirah’s entire body was in an inferno. Sweat poured freely from her; every spasm sent droplets of the salty liquid flying everywhere. But, the burning had settled mainly in her bones, they were expanding, stretching out her skin, and she began to grow in height. Muscles and sinews let out weird gurgling noises as they begin to swell and thicken, fill out her stretched form.

_**CRACK! CRACK!** _

Both of her knees snapped forwards and locked in a partially bent position. Her toes started to shrink back to her feet, the bones were being compressed and were also widening spreading out the width of her feet. Her ankles bones elongated, the same pops and cracks as her insteps narrow and lengthen, changing the entire shape of her feet, her big toe disappearing into her leg. Opening her eyes, she could see that her legs no longer looked like human legs, they resembled the back legs of a wolf; powerful and muscled, although her legs were far larger than any regular wolf.

She found herself looking down at her body, it was horrifying, it was twisting into something horrible and monstrous. Her emotions shift from pain and fear to sheer terror. Another painful pop makes another noise leave her, but what came out was a garbled mess, her voice deepened more and more, sounding like the pained cry of a monster.

The hair begins to thicken into brown-greyish white fur with the feeling of millions of needles poking at her skin. A thin layer of hair grows around her face, as her nose blackens, covered in moisture. There is a pressure in the front of her skull, as the bones her face push outward. At the base of her spine, a thin bone begins to poke out, stretching her skin, forming a tail. It was beginning to grow tiny hairs, pointing outward.

She looked back at her brother … or what was her brother… it was a massive wolf-like beast, armed with vicious fangs and claws, standing there, whimpering. _T… That’s what’s… going to happen to me…??? No … no no no no! Please no! God please no!_

Zahirah, on all fours, backed up. Tears still readily falling down her face. Hair had turned into a thick hide of fur. Her ears rose to the top of her head, expand, opening up and dramatically enhancing her hearing, resembling the ears of a canine - a wolf. Her tail pokes outward more, having grown hairs like the rest of her monstrous body until it finally fully formed, tucked between her legs. Her eyes burned as they changed, she blinked a couple of times before they became like that of a wolf, yet still retaining her hazel blue coloration. Her face begins to push out, even more, reshaping, forming the muzzle of a canine. A strange sensation twinged her jaw then her teeth changed. Fangs sliding down from the gum lining of her teeth, growing out into daggers while her molars became edged. New teeth tore through her gums to fill in the empty space. Her newfound muzzle was now equipped with fangs, larger than an average wolf, made for parting flesh from bone.

Zahirah had passed out right when the transformation near completion, the last glimpses of humanity in her eyes had faded and what was left was a feral wolf.

*** * ***

She ran through the forest galloping fiercely, kicking up dirt and grass, she was big but moved fast with him by her side. She woke - or what felt like waking - with him by her side, he was a stranger at first, but he smelt familiar, he had the familiar, calm and safe scent of family-kin on him. So he must be family, so she does not mind him being close, she welcomes him, nudging and rubbing and purring on him, humming _love family kin brother us together family yes yes good yes me love love love_ in her chest as the first rise and fall of the sun they took turns sleeping in tall grass that was soft and welcoming to lay in so they are always wake and ready to leave. It is not the safety of a cave-den, too open, too many places for a threat to lunge and snap at them if they are sleeping oblivious.

Right now, under the cover of night, all that occupied her mind was finding prey, she was hungry and she must find something to eat and with the two of them, they will have a better chance. Already they were following an interesting scent, a possible hoof-prey scent, and she was growing impatient, rumbling a - _hungry hungry me hungry smell scent hoof-prey you me go go go_ \- sound. Brother-kin barks a _hush_ at her; he is hungry just as her, but if they are not quiet and clever and fast, hoof-prey with their sharp ears - almost as good as Wolf ears - will hear them and will run before they even see them. 

She relents with a huff before going quiet, following his lead. Their tracking stops at a point as the hoof-prey scent mingled with another scent, a strange scent that they never smelt before. _Smell smell scent smell strange weird wrong corpse old dead blood_ , a growl rumbled in her brother's chest, tail stiffening, ears flicked back slightly. The smell-scent smelled like that of blood and death, of a prey that is long since dead and its corpse now reeking of rot and decay. What was strange is that this corpse is moving as if it had the life restored to it that had been once taken away. Soon, Brother-kin moved away with a snort, she lingers a little longer before trails after him, continuing their search.

Eventually, the two Wolves stood upon a small heap of rocks, standing on their back legs for a better look, ears and eyes and nose searching, listening, smelling as she picks up on something in the air, soft and distant but still all the recognizable; blood and blood could mean something was injured, possibly prey. She wastes no time, too hungry and too impatient, she leaves her brother behind and leaps from their small perch in a sprint, bounding through the forest, weaving around trees, leaping over logs that had fallen to the ground old and dead. As the scent grew strong she slowed, crawling upon the ground without actually dragging herself, before stopping and laying down low in a bush. 

The bush was small and did not cover her large girth entirely, but it was dark and her fur can be easily mistaken as a part of the bush as long as she stayed low and quite, the prey was a small hoof-prey, standing unaware in a clearing, nibbling on the grass. She quickly noticed the limp as it walked, some of its white fur is stained red and when it walked it was in a small circle, there was something around its neck, a vine of some kind tied to a piece of wood that was buried in the ground. 

The hoof-prey was injured and stuck and could not run if she-Wolf were to lunge from her spot with fangs and claws poised to tear and kill, but her fur bristles, body giving off a _smell strange worried me worried cautious_ , she could smell that strange-scent again, that _wrongdeadblood_ smell but fresher and more recent than the last one she had smelt. Whatever the _wrongdeadblood_ thing was it was near or at least around the area, she wanted to seek it out but did not want to do it without Brother-kin close to her but she was hungry and the prey was right there.

Maybe if she moved fast...

She-Wolf takes her chances and lunges quickly from the bushes, falling upon the hoof-prey before it had a chance to flee - not like it could. Its entire neck was in her powerful jaws as she bit down, bone broke with a soft, mute snap! that could only be felt. Before she could be able to dash off with her prize, they strike! Leaping from the trees almost silently if it weren't from the shuddering leaves, shadows, beings, hissing like angry coiled snakes that lunge at curious or foolish Wolves if they get too close. They stink of the _wrongdeadblood_ smell, they are the source! They surround She-Wolf, they are not as big as She-Wolf but they are strong, able to wrestle her to the ground forcing her to let go of her kill, yelping and snarling  _bad bad surprise trap trap no no no you you all go away away me threat me fight fierce fierce!_ She snaps her jaws at them, but they stay clear of her large fangs. The beings - with eyes as black as night, walking on their back legs, shouting and crying at one another with meaningless sounds - fought to tie vines to her, the same vines that were around the hoof-prey's neck, trying to tie her down.

The _Black-Eyes_ were strong and had numbers but did not count for her to be as big and as strong as she was, they were struggling but still managing, avoiding her swiping claws and snapping fangs until she felt something sharp pierce her thigh, she yelps loudly once more and lunges at the suspected perpetrator, who backed away just in time. All the Black-Eyes began to back off a distance, still holding her in place with vines tied to her front and back legs and neck as she thrashed to get away.

Suddenly the world beneath She-Wolf's feet began to sway, which was strange as she done nothing to warrant such a feeling yet her body felt heavy, so heavy, she stumbled over her feet snarling with lips pulled back to show her teeth until her body met with the ground. The _Black-Eyes_ were slowly closing in, and her body would not work properly, she cannot defend herself, she is helpless. Feeling threatened and scared, She-Wolf gathered the energy and lifted her head to let a howling roar, a cry for help that echoes out far before collapsing once more. The Black-Eyes make a sound, a sound that sounds like it could be laughing They are laughing at her, at her pitiful cry for help, thinking help will not come for her.

But it does.

In the form of her furious Brother-kin, when she had sprinted off leaving him behind, he moved after her in a leisurely trot but soon after hearing her snarls and yelps, after hearing her scared howling roar that cried out for help, he moved fast and hard. The _Black-Eyes_ did not see him coming until he let out an angry roar that bellowed out _challenge!_

One _Black-Eye_ fell to him, he lunged at it and had its small neck and head in his powerful jaws. He gives no mercy, not to any that would harm his Sister-kin, he pulls hard and tears away the _Black-Eye_ 's head and neck. Blood filled the air and his jaws as he quickly turned to another with the same intent. The Black-Eyes panicked, they were ready for one Wolf, but not two, they screech at each out, their sounds and body movement said _confused confused death scared fear fear run we run go go!_ Once three of them laid dead, the rest quickly turned and scattered, bolting, disappearing into the dark foliage into the forest. Brother-kin does not pursuit, he will not leave her side in case they come back, instead, he does a mock charge, letting out a bellowing _STAY-AWAY!_

Though he won the fight, making the enemy run away, whimpering in defeat, instead of feeling victorious, he paces and watched the dark edges of the clearing, tail erect, fur bristled, ears and body saying _cautious cautious angry hunt angry angry_. The stink of Black-Eyes lingered in the air, leaving him on edge though he had chased them off, but soon enough he relents and goes to his Sister-kin's side, her eyes were closed and her breathing slow, she was asleep but when he goes to nudge her, humming _you wake wake now wake wake_.

She will not wake, this is not a dead sleep as her chest was still moving and her heart still beats, it was a different kind of sleep he has never seen before. He could wait for her to wake but he did not want to stay in a place the stunk of the _Black-Eyes_ , he must move her. He moves around and nudges his snout under her before moving his whole body, slipping himself underneath her and putting his Sister-kin on his back. He spots the dead hoof-prey that laid on the ground, it was small, but it was something he could give to his Sister-kin to eat when she wakes.

He picked it up, ripping the wood out of the ground then moves steadily in the opposite direction the _Black-Eyes_ fleed...

*** * ***

**Friday, September 8th**  
**07: 15 a.m.**

**Moon Phase**

_Waning Gibbous_

The sun was just barely above the horizon, the sky beginning to turn a deep orange, looking like a molten lava as clouds drift lazily through the sky. Zahirah began to stir, waking from a wordless dream, the images fading from her mind. Her eyes fluttered open, staring up at the molten sky before a groan left her lips. Slowly, Zahirah sat up slightly, blinking a couple of times, dazed, her mind reeling, pounding with a light headache. Disoriented and confused, she tried to situate herself but found it somewhat hard to as her body ached with a throb that was gradually fading.

It took Zahirah a moment, but soon she realized that she laying in the middle of a field of tall grass, “...Wha…” She looked to her right to her brother laying right next to her, asleep and completely naked, his hair was dirty with pieces of grass sticking out, dirt and grass stuck to his skin, she also noticed his mouth covered in blood, “ What...? How … ” She at herself, she was bare as well, her hair was in disorder as she pulled a small leaf out, some of it draping over her face. She was starved and parched and overall, a wreck, " How ... How ... did we ... get out here?"

A cool breeze came by and brushed up against her bare skin, she hugged herself slightly as she looked around, trying to figure out how and why; how did she and her twin get out here in the woods? Why were they naked? Why can't she remember what happened the last two days? All she remembers was not being about to sleep then feeling this pain in her gut ... then after that, it was kind of a big blank to her. 

It was almost a big blur, she had only a few emotions to go on; hunger, pain, fear, and anger... then that's it. Did they go to some party?? No, she remembered heading home and laying down in bed since she hadn't felt too well, her whole body was burning up like she had a fever which was strange as she wasn't the one to get sick easily.

A cold breeze brushed against her bare skin, she shivers slightly, _Maybe I should focus on getting out of the woods and back home... for now._ Zahirah thought before looking to slumbering brother, reaching a hand out to wake him before noticing, with wide eyes, the red stuff - blood possibly - that was dried and smeared on his face.

" Wha ..." She withdrew the hand, " ... Is that ... blood ... ?" She was silent, panic growing. Where did the blood come from? Did ... he kill someone?? Right then, she smelt something rotting and the buzz of gathering flies to her left. Morbid curiosity makes Zahirah climb to her feet and slowly follows the stench until she pulled away the grass revealing a festering mutilated corpse, tearing bites had been taken out of it, blood stained the grass, intestines, and flesh exposed as flies crawled around. She bit back her tongue, trying to keep herself from hurling right on the spot though she can feel her stomach starting to heave. The hooves and stained wool gave it away, " ... Ugh... Poor Sheep..." The sight of the corpse was disgusting enough but the very thought that her brother might have _eaten_ this...

"No... no..." She shook her head, stepping away.

There was a groan behind her, she turns to see her brother finally waking from his slumber as he sat upon the grass, stretching out his limbs, before looking around, "Hmm... Wh...Why am I ... in the middle of the forest..." He looks down at himself, "... naked ... and ..." He runs a tongue over his lips before quickly spitting out on the grass, " is this blood on my lips?!"

"Yeah..." His head turned to look at her but then quickly looked away when he saw that she was naked as well.

"... Why are we both naked...??"

" I don't know... I just woke up like this..." She grabs handfuls of the tall grass to cover up her breasts and lower bits then stands up, "... Let's just get out of here. I'm cold and hungry..."

Her sibling does the same and climbs to his feet, " Yeah, let's go..."

*** * ***

   
"I'm sure ... They'll be back..."

"They've been gone for _**THREE**_  whole days ...! They've should of ... called or messaged ... or something by now! Not only that but they just up and left in the middle of the night ... without saying a word!"

" Hun, I'm sure they have a reason..."

" Like what?? What reason would they have to just do that?! They've never done that before, Dane!" She paces back and forth.

"Helen, pleas-"

There was a knock at the door, surprisingly not from the front door but the back door, " ... Is that the back door...?"

Dane got up from his seat and cautiously made his way over to the door, and slowly pulled away the curtains to see Zahirah and Zachariah, dirty and naked, wrapped in blankets, "H-Hey Dad..."

His eyes widen as he quickly opened the door, pulling them both into a tight hug, " Zahi! Zac! Where have you been?! You were gone for two days - we tried to contact you but you both left your phones behind! And ... and... you two are a mess... and are you naked??"

" ... Yeah... We don't know how..." Zahirah replied.

"Or why..."

"... Just come in and get washed up!" The two made their way inside.

*** * ***

**Wednesday, September 13th**

**6:35 p.m.**

_**Moon Phase** _

_Last Quarter_

_**A**_ nother day of work came and passed for Zahirah, she had to bundle up as the fall had finally died off and winter was truly beginning to set in along with the snow, but only a bit as despite the cold she still felt amazingly warm, which was strange as it was easy for her to get cold. But the stranger part was something she couldn't ignore, what had happened not too long ago, waking up in the middle of the woods, naked, was not something one could just brush off and her brother knew well.

She stood at his room door for a solid minute before taking in a deep breath and knocking.

“Come in.” She heard from inside.

She twists the knob and walks in, her brother sitting at his desk on his laptop, he spins in the swivel chair to face her, “ What’s up?”

She closes the door behind her, silent at first before finally speaking up, “… Zac … I think … we should talk about ... _that_ morning…”

“ …” He was silent.

“Just … think about it.” She continued, “The last few days ... I've been able to hear and smell things that I shouldn’t be able to hear or smell. I never needed to wear my glasses anymore... And this … this anger… I nearly broke a man’s wrist a week ago … ”

Her brother was still quiet until he finally spoke, “ … I caught this thug that stole an old lady’s purse … I moved so fast … … It wasn’t even a chase … I pinned him to the wall, he weighed like … nothing and I wanted to … … I wanted to … ” He lets out a loud sigh, running his hands through his hair, “ I wanted to tear into him …”

“ … Brother … I think … something is seriously  _wrong_ with us...” She sits down on the bed with a sigh, " And I don't know what... I don't know if it's something that can be ... cured ... or fixed...or if we need to go to some doctor ..."

Both of them were silent, “ … … I don’t want to _hurt_ anybody, Zac …”

Zachariah’s hand tightened into a fist, as much as he would like to deny it to be true it would be worse if they just pretend the strange happenings never occurred. After all ‘Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Thrice is a pattern.' " You won't... _We_ won't... For now, let's just... relax."

She nods, standing up from the bed and heading out of the room.

* * *

 

**To Be Continued ...**


End file.
